More than a dozen Catholic schools in New York state have announced closures, mostly related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The office of the Superintendent of School of the Archdiocese of New York made the announcement Thursday that 20 Catholic schools will not reopen, including nine in the Hudson Valley.

The archdiocese says the decision was made because of a substantial decline in enrollment in many of their schools because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The closures are expected to impact about 2,500 students and 350 staff members.

"I can understand why parents would be devastated, we're devastated that we were forced into this position," said Michael J. Deegan, the superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New York.

Some parents and families are banding together in an effort to prevent the closures.

In Orange County, parents and students from St. Stephen-St. Edward were taking action with a rally Saturday night.

"There's a grassroots effort right now, us at St. Stephens and Sacred Heart are combining, we're going to do our best to keep our schools open," says parent Brian Currid.

St. Paul the Apostle School in Yonkers is one of 20 schools in the state that are shutting down in the wake of the pandemic. 
Parents of St. Paul students say they feel blindsided by the decision.

"It came as a shock to a lot of the parents, we thought it was very covertly done and the timing was poor. We didn't have a chance to fundraise or think outside the box for some creative ways to make up for the tuition loss," says Michael Balestra.